NCT Classes

[MissRee]

Hi ladies

Does anyone know how much the nct antenatal classes are - or does it vary by region? I tried phoning my local centre but keep getting voicemail :/

Ria x

Thanks

[kirsty12321]

If find a group on their website and register provisionally they will e mail you a link with the cost and details and you can accept it or decline the offer, the groups book up quickly though, they do offer discounts for certain situations though and £35 of the cost is for membership. In Bath where I'm from it's about £200
HTH

[mpops]

We are in London and ours cost £290 for 16 hours and annual membership for me and my partner. Have a look on this page here: www.nct.org.uk/courses/course-prices for generic advice on prices - then look up courses based on your postcode and you should find out the cost (depends on how many hours and how intensive it is, I think).

[ghosteditor]

North Oxford and our run of three classes (12 hours I think) is ~£150 plus annual membership of £35.

[nannyl]

Mine (that i started last week) were £157 for the course. (15 hours in total)

If you are on benfits or have a very low income you dont have to pay it all though

[benne81]

I'm in london and it was going to cost £270 for 16 hrs which personally I thought was completely extortionate - every hospital does antenatal classes for free on the NHS as well so I've just booked in for those. You can join NCT for their baby/toddler things at a later date if it is the social bit that your interested in.

[MissRee]

Thanks ladies, I've requested more information so will see when that arrives.

I'm already booked on the Nhs ones but heard that the NCT ones are more informative. They want to be for those prices tho!!! Lol

Ria x

[RunningGuerita]

For what it's worth, I was annoyed at the cost but really pleased I did them. You can of course meet other mums/mums to be other ways but it really is a great support network. Then again of course it will be hit and miss. I have lucked out and have a really nice group of women. No one takes themselves (or their babies) too seriously and I have really enjoyed the company.

[notcitrus]

I was really glad I did NCT classes as it turned out I couldn't get any NHS ones - they were booked up months in advance. Also that would have been 2 hours whereas NCT got 16 hours all together, got DH involved, and met some local mums-to-be and got more local info.
It was expensive but I found the knowledge of how births and hospitals work and what to do with a baby once you have it, was invaluable. If you knew more to start with might not be so necessary.

For reference it was £250, which probably balances everything else I spent on me and baby in the first year!
But SIL on benefits only had to pay £20 for hers - there's a lot of local variation.

[benne81]

Check with your hospital - ours provides exactly the same amount of hours (16hrs) and its free and I booked mine at 28 weeks so they definitely weren't booked up months in advance - personally I can think of much better ways to spend £250. I mean really how much more info can they provide? I think there might be a slight air of snobiness when it comes to NCT classes (prepared to be shot down)

[nannyl]

My hospital offers 1 90 min session!

very glad i signed up to NCT classes, (i have read every book going, but learnt something new at my 1st (and only so far) class)

My NCT class was fully booked by 16 weeks..... at 30 weeks i was offered a space on the 90min hospital one! I thought i might as well do it as its free!

[Pastabee]

We are in Cheshire and ours are £175. They were highly recommended to us by friends who did hospital and NCT.

[ksaunders]

Our London hospital offered 2 classes but my sister did them a few months before I would have and she didn't understand the women (heavy african/carribean accents) a lot of the time. Although there was apparently a hilarious demonstration of noises/woman in labour! Hence, I didn't bother.
We both did the nct one and found it useful. 16 hours, about £290 I think. It included a class dedicated to breastfeeding techniques (but we did talk about bottle feeding just not in as much detail), but most sessions were discussion based and our course leader was quite relaxed about going off plan and discussing any concerns or queries we had as a group. We talked about our expectations of labour/birth & the first few weeks with baby (sleeping, feeding etc); pros and cons of different pain relief; stages of labour; types of intervention (forceps, ventouse, caesarians); looked at different types of baby slings and how to swaddle a baby...so all in all quite a range of topics!

[benne81]

I think Ksuanders emphasises my point exactly - snobby and slightly (well no completely racist!!). I take it your NCT midwife spoke with a british accent - did you ring up to check before you parted with your money?

NHS St Thomas London does one full day on labour, half a day parenting and half a day on breastfeeding - I mean I can't gaurantee the accents of the midwifes thought (WTF?? Ksaunders).

[ksaunders]

I'm sorry you think I was being racist benne, I certainly didn't intend to be! I have African and Carribean friends...it was simply the fact that my sister couldn't understand a lot of what was said and apparently she wasn't the only one as she overheard someone else ask their partner if they understood. I'm sure it was just unfortunate that this was the case. I don't care what a person's accent is, so long as I can understand the information I need!

[RockChick1984]

I did both NHS and NCT classes, both served a purpose. Main benefit of NHS was to view labour ward and speak to a midwife based at the hospital where I was giving birth to ask specific questions for example visiting policy, different labour rooms etc. NCT classes were most informative, particularly for dh (I had read every baby book going!) as there was much more info about being a birth partner and what to expect as a new dad. I have been to other mums and tots groups but the best friends I've made were at NCT classes, I think because we all went through things at the same time. Ours were by no means snobby, I asked for money towards the classes off family instead of Xmas presents, and I can honestly say it was 1 of the best things I've ever bought!

[candr]

We got a form to fill in from MW and have been given dates for a Sat course but no one has mentioned money at all, bit of a shock to see the prices some of you quoted.

[Pastabee]

Hi candr, is it NCT or NHS classes at the hospital you signed up for? NCT isn't publicly funded so you have to pay but NHS classes through the midwifery team are free.

[notlettingthefearshow]

NCT classes are 167 for 16 hours around here (Sheffield). You get 4 evenings before the birth and another 2 after. That's for both of us to go, and you don't have to join (I'm not). There are only 16 in a group so supposed to be friendly and great for making local friends, as well as being informative - not heard anything negative about them. I don't have a problem with the cost - I'd pay that much to make one local friend on maternity leave at the same time!

[pootlebug]

I'm pretty sure the NCT has a policy that people shouldn't miss out on their classes if they genuinely can't afford it - classes are heavily subsidised or free for those on low incomes.